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A little girl in Salisbury, Maryland is fighting for her life as she battles a condition in the bone marrow which prevents the oxygen to flow through her body because her marrow is not producing enough blood cells. For now what keeps her alive are the blood donations that she receives from donors regularly. As soon as she turns a year old steroids will be administered to her frail body.

From WMDT.com:

Her mother Patricia said, “Her body’s working extra hard to make up for the lack of oxygen.”

Ashlynn has Diamond Blackfan Anemia, a condition where her bone marrow doesn’t produce enough red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout her body. While it’s extremely rare, with only 600 to 700 people who have it worldwide, it is slowly coming into the public eye.

On ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” they featured Lizzie Bell, who is also battling the disease. Like Lizzie, Ashlynn survives on blood transfusions, but that leads to high iron buildup. Patricia is hoping for a better solution. She said, “Once she turns a year old, they’re going to put her on steroids, and hopefully the steroids will fix them.”

But there are side effects, including diabetes and weakening of the bones. If steroids don’t help, her only option is a bone marrow transplant, a risky and uncertain procedure.

Patricia Bruce expresses her desire for her child to live especially since she always wanted a baby girl and Ashlynn has been an answered prayer. According to Pat her daughter had shown signs that she had a strong will to live because everytime she receives a transfusion, she seemed to look so happy.

In professional sports steroids are used as performance enhancing drugs which get star players like Alex Rodriguez grilled under the spotlight. Steroids are not exactly a foe of the society provided that it is used for their intended purpose.

Category: Anabolic Steroids | Tags: Ashlynn Bruce, bone marrow, Patricia, steroids